November 17, 2011

Last week, the National Association of Evangelicals issued a statement warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons and calling for reductions in nuclear arsenals. Here are a couple of highlights from the statement:

While the threat of armed nuclear conflict no longer captivates the public imagination as it did a generation ago, these weapons of mass destruction, now capable of being delivered in ever more sophisticated ways, continue to threaten humankind. Many argue that they weaken rather than strengthen our security. And so we prayerfully and boldly call on evangelicals to re-engage the national dialogue on nuclear peace and security in our globalizing age, making a distinctively evangelical contribution. ... We call on evangelicals to consider these issues in light of their faith and to pray for our leaders and all who are charged with protecting our nation from external aggression.

Nuclear weapons don't serve as a deterrent to the dangers of our post-Cold War era, which include rogue nations and terrorist groups. We must re-engage the dialogue on nuclear peace and security for the sake of our world.

He is right on both points--nuclear weapons do not make us safer today and evangelicals need to join the dialogue on this critical issue. Hopefully this statement will spark more dialogue among evangelical leaders. Considering the importance of evangelicals and the NAE (as I noted in my book on confessional politics), this statement could impact the broader sociopolitical discussion on the issue.